Method and system for network resources allocation

ABSTRACT

A method of recording allocation of resources in response to a request for a data item to be transmitted to a device in the network where the request comprises data indicative of one or more requested items. The device is typically a mobile device and the requested items can be key words making up a search request or can be web site names indicating web sites of interest to the user. In response to the request, data listings having items generating a match with the requested data item are identified and data indicative of a network location corresponding to the or each matched data item are retrieved. In addition data indicative of an amount of data and a resource allocation associated with the set of data accessible via the network location are retrieved and these data, together with a network subscription associated with device and the amount of data, are used to evaluate actual usage of network resources when accessing the set of data. If data are subsequently requested from the network location the evaluated actual usage is offset against the resource allocation so as to identify an amount of usage of network resources to be charged to the network subscription, and a record associated with said data listing is updated so as to log said resource allocation event.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of the filing dates of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/930,837 filed May 18, 2007and GB Application No. 0709604.3 filed May 18, 2007, the disclosure ofeach of which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a method and system forallocating resources for accessing data within a public network and isparticularly, but not exclusively, suited to providing access to datawhen the delivery of data is metered, such as when data are delivered toterminals connected to mobile networks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As is well known, the Internet provides access to huge numbers of webpages; increasingly the web pages include nested links and objects, thedelivery of which can require what is sometimes a non-trivial amount ofbandwidth. This is typically not a problem for requests received fromterminals that are fixedly connected to the Internet (either directly,or via one of several network portions), and of course the transmissionof data within the Internet—on a per request basis—is free. However,with the advent of widespread deployment of 3G networks, requests areincreasingly being received from terminals connected to wirelessnetworks. Unlike the transmission of data within fixed-line networks,the transmission of data within mobile networks is typically metered ona per transmission basis. As a result, mobile terminals are faced withhitherto unseen costs for accessing web sites.

SUMMARY

In accordance with aspects of the present invention, there is providedmethods and systems according to the appended claims.

In some arrangements embodiments provide a method of recordingallocation of resources in response to a request, the method comprising:

receiving a request for a data item to be transmitted to a device in thenetwork, the request comprising data indicative of one or more requesteditems;

accessing a storage system so as to identify data listings having itemsgenerating a match with the requested data item;

retrieving data indicative of a network location corresponding to the oreach matched data item, the network location providing access to a setof data corresponding to the matched data item;

retrieving data indicative of an amount of data and a resourceallocation associated with the set of data accessible via the networklocation;

on the basis of a network subscription associated with device and theamount of data, evaluating actual usage of network resources whenaccessing the set of data;

in the event that the set of data are accessed from the networklocation, offsetting said evaluated actual usage against the resourceallocation so as to identify an amount of usage of network resources tobe charged to the network subscription; and

updating a record associated with said data listing so as to log saidresource allocation event.

These embodiments of the invention therefore provide a means ofoffsetting access to data from a given web site on the basis of aresource allocation associated with the network location, for example aweb site. This can be pre-specified by the information providerassociated with the web site. Preferably the data are transmitted to,and the evaluation is performed by, the device from which the request isreceived, such as a mobile device. However, in other arrangements theamount of data, the resource allocation and the corresponding networklocation are transmitted to a device other than the mobile device. Therequested items can be key words making up a search request or can beweb site names indicating web sites of interest to a user associatedwith the mobile device.

In either arrangement, data indicative of transport costs associatedwith the network subscription are retrieved and, when the deviceperforming the evaluation is the mobile device associated with thenetwork subscription, the transport costs can be retrieved from aremovable storage device associated therewith, or from data provided bythe corresponding network operator or input manually.

In the event that one or more data elements from the set are retrievedby the mobile device, data indicative of the actual usage of networkresources is transmitted to a billing system maintained by the networkoperator associated with the network subscription. The actual usage canbe used in decrementing an account balance, or, in the event that theresource allocation is accounted for after accessing the data, theactual usage of network resources can be used to increment the accountbalance associated with the network subscription.

In some embodiments the resource allocation can be weighted according tothe size of one or more data element accessible from the networklocation, the number of nested links, and/or rating data associated withthe network location whereby to evaluate said actual usage.

The mobile device can be arranged to display the data listings as a listof selectable links, which are ordered in dependence on the amount ofusage of network resources to be charged to the network subscription.The links can be classified on the basis of the amount of usage ofnetwork resources to be charged to the network subscription; examples ofsuch classifications include fully subsidised, partially subsidised andnon-subsidised.

Embodiments of the invention can also comprise sending information aboutthe network location to the mobile device prior to retrieving the dataindicative of an amount of data and the resource allocation associatedwith the set of data accessible via the network location; typically thisinvolves transmitting the set of data accessible via the networklocation to the device and receiving data indicative of selectedelements from the set of data. These selected elements can then be usedto adjust the amount of data (and thence the evaluated usage) associatedwith the set of data. Typically selection of a given element indicatesthat the element should be excluded from the download of data from thenetwork location, and so effectively reduces the amount of data to befactored into the evaluation. The selection process can be dependentupon the amount of data to be downloaded, the number of nested links,ratings applied to the data, and other such characteristics.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided amobile terminal configured to evaluate resource requirements in relationto data access from a given network location.

The embodiments are particularly well suited to use in the context ofproviding search results to a mobile terminal, because the transmissionof data over wireless networks is chargeable.

Embodiments of the invention are particularly convenient for use intransmitting search results to a terminal connected to a mobilecommunications network.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided amethod of identifying a characteristic of a set of data accessible via alink specifying a network location; the characteristics include size ofelements of the set of data, rating applied to the set of data, amountof resource that has been allocated in relation to elements of the setof data etc. and the method comprises:

receiving a request for a said characteristic to be transmitted to adevice in the network, the request comprising data indicative of a saidlink;

identifying a link listing generating a match with the requested link,said link listing being identifiable from a list comprising a pluralityof link listings;

retrieving data indicative of a set of data accessible from theidentified link listing;

identifying a said characteristic from the retrieved set of data on thebasis of predefined characteristic request criteria; and

transmitting data indicative of the identified characteristic to thedevice.

According to a yet further aspect of the present invention there isprovided a user interface for a mobile device, the user interface beingfor use in designating an element of data as having a type ofdownloadable status (such as “not downloadable” or “downloadable”). Theuser interface preferably comprises display means arranged to displaythe set of data in conjunction with a plurality of selectable displayobjects, each being assigned to a given element of the set of data. Thedisplay means is responsive to selection of a given said display objectso as to designate the element of data corresponding thereto as having afirst type of downloadable status, and the mobile station is arranged totransmit data indicative of elements having said first type ofdownloadable status to a network node for use in controlling datasubsequently transmitted to the mobile station.

This therefore provides a means of explicitly selecting or deselectingindividual elements from transmission to the mobile station.

In accordance with further aspects of the invention there is provided adistributed system and apparatus for carrying out the method stepsdescribed above.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description of preferred embodiments of the aspectsof the invention, given by way of example only, which is made withreference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood thatother embodiments may be utilized and structural and functionalmodifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a distributed informationsystem within which embodiments of the invention can operate;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing fields of several records storedwithin the search database shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing components of the searchengine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram showing components of a mobileterminal configured according to embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a timing diagram showing data flows between components of thedistributed information system of FIG. 1 when operating according to aprocess of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 6 a and 6 b are schematic diagrams showing an example web pageoutput from the search engine during the process shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an alternative distributedinformation system within which embodiments of the invention canoperate;

FIG. 8 is a timing diagram showing data flows between components of thedistributed information system of FIG. 7 when operating according to aprocess of an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic flow diagram showing further steps associated withthe embodiment shown in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As described above, embodiments of the present invention are generallyconcerned with allocating resources for providing providers and/or endusers with access to publicly accessible material via devices such asmobile terminals. The nature of the process for quantifying the resourceallocation and the criteria relating thereto is described in detailbelow, but first a description of the infrastructure needed to supportsome embodiments of the invention will be presented with reference toFIG. 1, which shows an example of a distributed information system 1.The current embodiment relates to servicing of search requests—i.e.requests for content corresponding to keywords; however, as will beappreciated from a full reading of the specification the inventionapplies to servicing a range of types of requests and accordingly is notto be limited to the realm of search engine technologies.

In the current embodiment the distributed information system 1 comprisesa plurality of information providers 6 a, 6 b, 6 c, at least some ofwhich are arranged to store content and information, and a search engine10, all of which are connected to a network 12 either directly orindirectly (e.g. via the Internet, local area networks (LANs), otherwide area networks (WANs), and regional networks accessed over telephonelines, such as commercial information services). Mobile terminals 2, 4are adapted to communicate with the various information providers 6 a, 6b, 6 c via mobile network 14 and an appropriate gateway GW, as shown;the terminals 2, 4 can be mobile telephones or PDAs, lap top computersand the like, and the mobile network 14 can comprise a licensed networkportion (such as is provided by cellular networks using e.g. GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology, Wideband CodeDivision Multiplex Access (WCDMA); Code Division Multiplex Access(CDMA), WiMax) and/or unlicensed network portions (such as is providedby Wireless LANs and Bluetooth technologies). The gateway GW can be aGPRS support node (GGSN) forming-part of the mobile network 14.

The mobile terminals 2, 4 comprise browser programs adapted to locate,and access data from, web sites corresponding to the or each informationprovider 6 a, 6 b, 6 c. The browser programs allow users of theterminals 2, 4 to enter addresses of specific web sites, typically inthe form of Uniform Resource Locators, or URLs, and are typicallyadapted to receive and display web and WAP pages; in the event that agiven terminal 2 is only capable of processing and displaying WAP pages,translation of a web page can be performed by a device in the network orby suitable translation software running on the device 2. As is known inthe art, any given web page can include links nested therein, which,when selected, can provide access to other pages or data such as plaintextual information, or digitally encoded multimedia content, such assoftware programs, audio signals, videos graphics, etc. Accordinglyselection of such links results in transmission of further data to theterminals 2, 4.

In accordance with conventional systems, the search engine 10 isoperable to receive keywords of interest to the users of terminals 2, 4,and, by accessing data stored in the search database 20, to generatesearch results relating thereto. The search results are organised into alist of hypertext links to content that contain information relevant tothese search terms; each link generally corresponds to a networklocation corresponding to a given information provider 6 a, 6 b, 6 c.

As described above, embodiments of the invention are concerned withallocating resources for providing access to publicly accessiblematerial via devices such as mobile terminals, and provide a mechanismfor evaluating delivery costs to be borne by the subscriber andpresenting the results in conjunction with these costs; this might bedifferent to the actual delivery costs, since information providers canallocate resources for use in offsetting the actual delivery costs.

For each information provider 6 a, 6 b, 6 c, the search database 20 canhold allocation records comprising data indicative of an allocation ofresource for use in offsetting delivery costs associated with providingaccess to their content. The allocation records can comprise parametersspecifying an allocation in absolute terms or in relative terms (e.g. asa percentage of the overall delivery costs), together with parametersspecifying temporal data and location data that control applicability ofthe allocations. Furthermore the search database 20 can hold ratingrecords comprising rating data gathered from third parties andrecipients that have already accessed the content. These rating datapreferably relate to usability of a given web site from the point ofview of a user of a mobile device, and can be collected automatically ormanually. The search database 20 can additionally hold resourcerequirement records, which specify data such as the size of the web pageaccessible via the URL associated with the information provider 6 a, 6b, 6 c, links that are nested within the web page, and objectsaccessible via the web site.

Rather than being stored within the search database 20, one or more ofthe allocation, storage and/or rating records can alternatively be heldin a database (not shown) maintained by (a) third party/parties, inwhich case the search engine 10 can query the third party database inorder to retrieve this information at the time of collating the searchresults.

These allocation and resource requirement data can be specified by agiven information provider 6 a, 6 b, 6 c via a form or similar (notshown), and in the case of the resource requirements data, softwarecomponents associated with the search database 20 can be arranged todownload the web page so as to verify, or correct, the submitted data.Once the data have been verified, the search database 20 stores the samein a database record corresponding to the information provider 6 a; anexample of a suitable schema is shown in FIG. 2. As can be seen, in thisrepresentation, any given record R comprises a plurality of fields: theURL corresponding to the information provider is stored in field 201,the keywords in field 203, the resource allocation amounts in field 205,site ratings in field 207, and resource requirements in field 209. Itwill be appreciated that FIG. 2 is highly schematic and that for examplein the case of field 207, there the schema will most likely includesubfields corresponding to respective elements thereof; for example,there could be a subfield corresponding to automatically generatedrankings, manually generated rankings, and ratings specified by otherusers. Any given record can also include other fields such as an accountbalance for the information provider (as described in more detailbelow); conversely any given record can comprise a subset of the fieldsshown in FIG. 2.

The processes involved in collating the search results will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 3, which shows components of the searchengine 10. The search engine 10 is preferably embodied as a web server,and comprises standard operating system, storage, processor,input/output interfaces, together with includes various bespoke softwarecomponents 301, 303, 305. These software components are arranged,respectively, to receive a search request, identify keywords within therequest (request receiving software component 301), to query the searchdatabase 20 on the basis of the keywords and generate correspondingsearch listings (database querying software component 303); the searchlistings are preferably accompanied by the resource allocation data 205,rating data 207, resource requirements data 209 in the search database20 as described above. The request receiving software component 301 isalso arranged to identify the terminal 2 to which the search listingsare to be transmitted, so that the search results collating softwarecomponent 305 can deliver the results and accompanying data to thisterminal 2 in the form of a results message M1. Whilst shown as singleunits in FIG. 1, it will be appreciated that the search engine 10 anddatabase 20 can comprise a plurality of units distributed in theInternet 12.

It will thus be appreciated that in at least some embodiments the datareturned to the mobile terminal 2 include, for any given search listingand thus information provider 6 a identified to have content relating tothe keywords submitted from the mobile terminal 2, data indicative ofthe amount of data retrievable from the information provider 6 a, dataindicative of the amount of resources that have been allocated by theinformation provider 6 a to offset the costs of the mobile terminal 2accessing the content, and data indicative of ratings applied to thecontent of the information provider 6 a. Accordingly the mobile terminal2 includes bespoke software processing components arranged to processthese data in order to organise the results into various categories suchas “free to access”, “access subsidised”, “fully chargeable”. Thesesoftware components will now be described with reference to FIG. 4,which shows components of the mobile terminal 2.

The mobile terminal 2 has an antenna 401 for communicating across thenetwork 14 in known manner and provides a user interface, having akeypad 403 and display screen 405, a loudspeaker 407 and a microphone409; alternatively the user interface could comprise components such astouch screens, touch pads and the like. The handset also comprises aprocessor 411, an operating environment 413 and various standardsoftware applications such as a browser (as described above); the mobileterminal 2 is also provided with a smart card reader 417 of known typefor interacting with a removable or non-removable SIM or a UICC 419,which may be provided with a processor, operating environment, andsoftware applications. In order to process data according to embodimentsof the invention, the mobile terminal 2 includes a search resultsprocessing software component 415, which can be embedded within thebrowser or can be a separate application running on the mobile terminal2. It will be appreciated that the results processing component 415could comprise means for sending the search request in the firstinstance, and thus be configured to monitor for the search resultsmessage M1 in response to the query in accordance with standard methods.

Operation of the various components of the distributed informationsystem 1 when servicing a search request will now be described withreference to FIG. 5, which is a timing diagram showing the variousmessages and data transmission between components 2, 10, 20, 6 a and 16.At step S5.1, the mobile terminal 2 sends a search request to the searchengine 10 using the browser application of the terminal 2, the searchrequest comprising one or more keywords of interest. In additionterminal related information such as data identifying the subscriber andthe terminal used by the subscriber associated with the terminal 2 canbe sent to the search engine 10 (or a different network component, whichis in operative communication with the search engine 10); theseidentifying data are preferably encrypted and can include theInternational Mobile Subscription Identifier (IMSI), Mobile Station ISDNNumber (MSISDN), International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI),terminal type, memory configuration, software configuration, browsertype and other identifiers available from the SIM 419 or the terminal 2or a database in the terminal 2.

The search request is received by the search engine 10, having beenrouted via the mobile network 14, gateway GW and other network portions,and the request receiving component 301 extracts the keywords from thesearch request, formulating a query based thereon and sending same tothe search database 20 (step S5.3). The search database 20 performs alookup in respect of the keywords and retrieves data indicative ofnetwork location and other data stored within fields 201, 203, 205, 207etc., and creates a message M1 as described above. The message M1 isthen sent to the mobile terminal 2 (step S5.5).

Once the message M1 has been received, the search results processingsoftware component 415 is arranged to identify the respective searchlistings therein, which is to say data specifying URL, resourceallocation, rating, and resource requirement corresponding toinformation providers 6 a . . . 6 c identified as having contentrelevant to the keywords contained within the search request. These dataare then processed by the results processing component 415 using variousalgorithms in order to identify which of the information providers'content can be accessed for free or at a subsidised rate, andoptionally, to identify ratings applicable to the content (step S5.7).

For example, assuming information provider 6 a has a resourcerequirement of 3 MB (2 MB+5 click-through links), and that the provider6 a has specified an allocation of 1

to offset the costs of accessing its content then the results processingsoftware component 415 evaluates a subsidy per KB of content of 1

3 MB=0.0003

/kbyte. As described above, this effectively represents an amount thatthe sponsor is willing to subsidise for the mobile terminal 2 to receivedata from its network location. Assuming information provider 6 b has aresource requirement of 20 kbyte and has specified that it will pay 0.2

to offset the costs of accessing its content, then the amount of subsidyfor accessing the network location corresponding to provider 6 b is0.2/20=0.01

kbyte; further, assuming information provider 6 c has an overallresource requirement of 120 kbyte (100 kbyte+2 objects) and hasspecified “100% sponsorship” for accessing its content, then the entirecost of accessing the content will be offset by the information provider6 c.

These amounts are then compared against the actual transport costsassociated with delivering data from the various network locations tothe terminal 2: this information can be derived from delivery plan datastored either on the SIM 419, or delivered, upon request, to theterminal, from the operator in respect of which the terminal 2 is asubscriber, or can be entered manually. For example, assuming the costsof transport to terminal 2 are P=0.007

/kbyte, then the costs of accessing data from information providers 6 a,6 b, 6 c are as follows:

-   -   Information provider 6 a: 1        /2 MB=0.0003        /kbyte, which is less than the transport costs, so that, whilst        the data is subsidised, it will nevertheless be delivered at a        cost.    -   Information provider 6 b: 0.2/20 kbyte=1.01        /kbyte, which is greater than the transport costs, so that data        will be delivered at no cost.    -   Information provider 6 c: 0.3/120 kbyte=0.0025        /kbyte, which is less than the transport costs; in any event,        the information provider 6 c has indicated that it will cover        all of the transport costs, so that the data will be delivered        at no cost.

The foregoing passages assume that all of the information providerslisted in the search database 20 have submitted a non-zero allocation ofresources for use in offsetting the costs of accessing their content.However, the search database 20 will also hold entries corresponding toinformation providers that are not interested in subsidising access totheir content. Since the query performed by the database queryingsoftware component 303 will return all data corresponding to allinformation providers having entries in the database 20 associated withto the keywords specified in the search request, the message M1 willinclude entries corresponding to non-paying and paying informationproviders.

The search listings could be assigned one of the above-mentioned accesscategories (“free to access”, “access subsidised”, “fully chargeable”),and be presented to the recipient in the form of a URL link togetherwith an indication of the assigned category. The rating data canadditionally be presented in conjunction with the category, therebyproviding an indication to the recipient of a generally accepted valueof the content accessible from respective information providers 6 a, 6b, 6 c. Examples of possible graphical representations of thisinformation are shown in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b, which show various forms ofa results page W1 that can be output from the results processingsoftware component 415. It will be appreciated that these are examplesof possible ways of representing the output and that combinations of thevarious representations are possible.

When a link within the search listings is selected, this causes theterminal 2 to send an account identifier and URL corresponding to theselected listing to the search engine 10; the search engine 10, morespecifically the account updating software component 307 thereof, isthen responsible for updating the respective account together withproviding a means of re-directing the request to the URL of the selectedlisting. Typically the account identifier is embedded as a parameter inthe URL, but it could be embedded within a cookie that is transmittedto, and maintained at, the terminal 2 along with the results message M1.

Assuming the user to select one of the links appearing within thesubsidised portion (e.g. information provider 6 a), message M2comprising account identification and/or the selected URL is transmittedto the search engine 10 (step S5.9). When received, the account updatingcomponent 307 sends a standard HTTP retrieval request to the URL listedwithin message M2, the request having, as source address, a networkidentifier corresponding to the terminal 2 (step S5.11).

Alternatively the search engine 10 returns information such aredirecting URL to the browser running on the mobile terminal 2. As anexample, message M2 can comprise the following data:

http://www.search service.com/url?sa=L=0wSrvIS3DQoAgBUN z-&q=http://www.infoprovider6a.com/p=1euro sponsor sKpNrit4Aw”.

The message M2 will be analysed by the search engine 10, causing aredirection message to http://www.inforpovider6a.com to be returned tothe terminal 2.

Data are then transmitted to the terminal 2 under control of theinformation provider 6 a corresponding to the selected URL in responseto the re-directed access request transmitted from the search engine 10at step S5.11. It is to be noted that the data can be modified and/orselected based on the capabilities of the terminal 2, these beingrequested from the terminal 2 or derivable by the information source 6 aon the basis of information held by the search engine 10 (e.g. based onthe information transmitted from the terminal at steps S5.1 or S5.9).

Whilst this is shown in FIG. 5 (step S5.13), it will be appreciated thattransmission of data from the network location occurs independently ofthe components of data information system 1, and is shown forcompleteness only.

The account updating software component 307 accesses the search database20 on the basis of account identifier retrieved from message M2, and atstep S5.15 indicates that data have been accessed from this informationprovider 6 a.

In one arrangement step S5.9 can additionally involve the mobileterminal 2 transmitting a further message M3 to the search engine 10,which includes data identifying the cost of accessing data from theinformation provider 6 a (as identified by the results processingsoftware component 415 at step S5.7). The message can include dataidentifying the subscriber associated with the terminal 2 (preferablyencrypted); these identifying data preferably correspond to those datasent at step S5.1 and can include the International Mobile Subscription.Identifier (IMSI), Mobile Station ISDN Number (MSISDN), InternationalMobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI), memory configuration, softwareconfiguration, browser type and other identifiers available from the SIM419 or the terminal 2 or a database in the terminal 2. In response toreceipt of message M3 the account updating software component 307 canthen update the account balance to account for the transport costsassociated with delivering the content to the terminal 2. In sucharrangements—those in which the transport costs are accounted for inreal time—the search engine 10 can then send a message M4 to the billingsystem 16 associated with the mobile network portion 14 shown in FIG. 1.This message M4 includes data identifying the subscriber associated withthe mobile terminal 2, derived from the message M3 sent at step S5.9,and again preferably formatted in encrypted form. Returning to FIG. 5,data indicative of the actual cost to the subscriber to receive datafrom the selected information provider 6 a are thus transmitted to thebilling system 16 at step S5.17, for use in incrementing thesubscriber's balance to as to account for the fact that delivery of thecontent has been sponsored by the information provider 6 a.

In a particularly advantageous arrangement these data are transmitted tothe billing system at the same time as, or before, the request forcontent is transmitted to the information provider 6 a at step S5.11,thereby ensuring that the subscriber's balance is “topped up” to includethe subsidised costs or to ensure that data connection is allowed.

As an alternative to the mobile terminal 2 transmitting the evaluatedtransport costs to the search engine 10 at step S5.9, the accountupdating software component 307 can independently evaluate the transportcosts on the basis of whichever data plan is associated with the networkoperator of the mobile terminal 2, this having been sourced from thevarious network operators by virtue of an agreement between the networkoperator and the search provider. In such arrangements the message M3would simply include data identifying the subscriber of the mobileterminal 2 so that the account updating software component 307 canidentify the transport costs applicable to delivery of data to thissubscriber.

In the above embodiments the mobile terminal 2 is described as sendingqueries for web pages and documents accessible via the web relating tokeywords of interest to the user, and there being a search engine 10arranged to broker, coordinate and account for user access to suchcontent. However, embodiments of the invention could also be applied toarrangements such as that shown in FIG. 7, in which there is a service12 that can simply provide access to a list of web sites. The service 12is connected to service database 24, which is arranged to hold recordscorresponding to those shown in FIG. 2, with or without the inclusion ofkeywords characterising data accessible from the web sites. In sucharrangements the mobile terminal 2 would additionally be equipped withan application (not shown) for accessing the service 12 and requestinginformation about the various site, in particular links and objects thatare accessible from a given site. In view of the fact that access todata and objects in a given site incurs transport costs, the applicationwould be capable of receiving input from the user identifying thoseparts of the web site that the user does not want to be receive at themobile terminal (typically resource intensive links or objects). Thisprocess is shown in FIG. 8, and largely mirrors the steps describedabove in relation to FIG. 5: the notable differences to the firstembodiment lie in the content sent in message M5 at step S8.5: thisincludes details of the objects and links that are accessible via theURL listed as a web site accessible via service 12. In addition, stepS8.7 involves running an application that allows the user to selectobjects and links that it does not wish, or wishes to receive from theweb site, while message M6 transmitted at step S8.9 additionallyincludes details of the selected objects and links. As a result, theservice 12 acts as a filter in relation to the content accessible fromthe information provider 6 a: as shown in FIG. 8, the service 12requests data from the website to be transmitted thereto (step S8.11),thereby enabling the service 12 to remove those objects and linksspecified by the contained within message M6. Accordingly the data thatare transmitted to the mobile station 2 at step S8.17 is a subset of thedata accessible from the information provider 6 a. Clearly, in view ofthe fact that the resource requirements etc. associated with links andobjects are specified in the data transmitted in the message M5transmitted at step S8.5, the transport costs can be evaluated based onthis selected subset of data.

Thus this embodiment of the invention involves the mobile terminal 2including an application with a user interface that displays dataaccessible from a specified web site to the user and enables the user toselect therefrom. Alternatively the browser or application running onthe terminal 2 can be configured so as to automatically request specifictypes of objects and elements; such a request can be formulated on thebasis of selection rules stored by the terminal 2, these rulesspecifying object size (including resolution in the case of images andfile size in relation to file types generally), delivery costs, dataplan associated with the terminal 2 etc.

As an alternative, the mobile terminal 2 could be equipped with anapplication that enables the user to enter data indicative of a web sitefor which transport costs etc. associated with links accessible via theweb site are required (i.e. those links for which clicking on the linkwould lead to the transmission of further data to the mobile terminal);in such arrangements the content of the web site corresponding to theURL entered by the user is downloaded to the mobile terminal, and thenforwarded from the mobile terminal to the service 12. This process flowis illustrated in FIG. 9, and receipt of the content from theinformation provider 6 a triggers step S8.1 shown in FIG. 8. Subsequentforwarding of the content to the service 12 can occur with or withoutmanual intervention on the part of the user; in the case of manualintervention, the user can specify those particular parts of the website that are to be filtered from the web site. In cases involvingautomatic forwarding of the data to the service 12, the application canbe configured with access to rules that automatically trigger step S8.1in response to detection of certain data within the data downloaded fromthe information source 6 a.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS AND MODIFICATIONS

The embodiments described in relation to FIG. 8 describe the mobileterminal 2 being configured with a user interface that enables the userto select items from a web site that are to be included/excluded asaccessible to the user. The user interface can additionally includemeans for the user to transmit data indicative of a ranking applied bythe user to the content associated with any given information provider 6a, 6 b, 6 c; this ranking data can be transmitted to the search database20 (or database 24) or a third party responsible for maintaining theranking data (which feeds the ranking data into the databases 20, 24 inthe manner described above).

The requests submitted at step S5.1 can be submitted from a terminalother than the one to which the search results are to be delivered; forexample, requests could be submitted as part of an automated process,which includes, as one of the input fields, an identifier correspondingto the terminal 2 destined to receive the search results. In addition,search requests could be typed in or entered via speech recognitionsoftware.

Each record R_(i) in the search database 20 corresponding to aninformation provider can additionally comprise a field relating to anaccount balance for the information provider. The balance is quantifiedin terms of resources, which can be money or usage of different types ofcommunications services. The latter type of resource are particularlyconvenient for embodiments of the invention, since communicationsresources could be directly traded rather than being translated into andout of financial amounts.

Whilst in the above embodiment the results message M1 is delivereddirectly to the mobile terminal 2, the search results couldalternatively be transmitted to a search results service, for furtherprocessing of the results or delivery thereof to the mobile device.

The term “sponsored link” is to be understood as subsidizing access tocontent associated with any of the links listed in the message M1.

By way of clarification, the term “non-sponsored link” is to beunderstood as including (but not limited to) a link to a networklocation associated with an information source whose presence in a listof results is defined purely on the relevance of the content of the dataitems associated with the web page to the request and is unrelated toany subsidy that might be applied to effect delivery thereof.

Additionally, when the terminal 2 requests data from a service such asinformation provider 6 a, the browser or application 415 running on theterminal 2 can be configured to request associated ranking and otherrelated information e.g. nested links associated with the informationprovider 6 a from the service 12.

The information from service 12 can be used by an application or browserin the terminal 2 to inform the user about certain characteristics oflinks via the user interface. The requested information can includerating information, mobile friendliness, feasibility of the contentbehind the link for the target terminal, size of the content, price ofthe delivery etc., and this information enables the user to decidewhether or not to access data from the information provider 6 a. Theuser interface can block or hide some of the links on the basis ofpredefined screening rules held by the mobile terminal 2. Thesescreening rules can include rules relating to e.g. feasibility ofaccessing a link and content type and can be manually configured by theuser of the terminal or automatically set by other authorised users suchas parents or employers. Such screening rules can be automatically seton the basis of information uploaded to the service 12 by the authorisedusers, and then downloaded to the mobile terminal 2 for use incontrolling access thereto.

The above embodiments are to be understood as illustrative examples ofthe invention. It is to be understood that any feature described inrelation to any one embodiment may be used alone, or in combination withother features described, and may also be used in combination with oneor more features of any other of the embodiments, or any combination ofany other of the embodiments. Furthermore, equivalents and modificationsnot described above may also be employed without departing from thescope of the invention, which is defined in the accompanying claims.

1. A method of recording allocation of resources in response to arequest, the method comprising: receiving the request for a data itemfrom a mobile terminal to be transmitted to a device in a network, therequest comprising data indicative of one or more requested items;accessing a storage system so as to identify data listings having itemsproviding a match with the requested data item; retrieving dataindicative of a network location, the network location being indicativeof a web page and corresponding to the or each matched data item, thenetwork location having a set of data corresponding to the matched dataitem; retrieving data indicative of an amount of data and a resourceallocation associated with the set of data accessible via the networklocation; on the basis of a network subscription associated with thedevice and the amount of data, evaluating an actual usage of networkresources when accessing the set of data; in the event that the set ofdata are accessed from said network location, offsetting said evaluatedactual usage against the resource allocation so as to identify an amountof usage of the network resources to be charged to the networksubscription; and updating a record associated with said data listingsso as to log a resource allocation event.
 2. The method according toclaim 1, including creating a message comprising the amount of data, theresource allocation and the corresponding network location; sending saidcreated message to a second device accessible within the network; andarranging for said second device to perform said evaluation.
 3. Themethod according to claim 2, including retrieving data indicative oftransport costs associated with the network subscription, whereby toevaluate actual usage of the network resources when accessing the set ofdata.
 4. The method according to claim 1, including retrieving dataindicative of transport costs associated with the network subscription,whereby to evaluate actual usage of the network resources when accessingthe set of data.
 5. The method according to claim 2, in which the seconddevice is the device associated with the network subscription, and thetransport costs are accessible from a removable storage deviceassociated therewith.
 6. The method according to claim 3, in which thesecond device is the device associated with the network subscription,and the transport costs are accessible from a removable storage deviceassociated therewith.
 7. The method according to claim 6, includingtransmitting data indicative of the amount of usage of the networkresources to be charged to a billing system maintained by a networkoperator associated with the network subscription, for use indecrementing an account balance associated therewith.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 5, including transmitting data indicative of theamount of usage of the network resources to be charged to a billingsystem maintained by a network operator associated with the networksubscription, for use in decrementing an account balance associatedtherewith.
 9. The method according to claim 4, including transmittingdata indicative of the amount of usage of the network resources to becharged to a billing system maintained by a network operator associatedwith the network subscription, for use in decrementing an accountbalance associated therewith.
 10. The method according to claim 3,including transmitting data indicative of the amount of usage of thenetwork resources to be charged to a billing system maintained by anetwork operator associated with the network subscription, for use indecrementing an account balance associated therewith.
 11. The methodaccording to claim 2, including transmitting data indicative of theamount of usage of the network resources to be charged to a billingsystem maintained by a network operator associated with the networksubscription, for use in decrementing an account balance associatedtherewith.
 12. The method according to claim 1, including transmittingdata indicative of the amount of usage of the network resources to becharged to a billing system maintained by a network operator associatedwith the network subscription, for use in decrementing an accountbalance associated therewith.
 13. The method according to claim 12,including transmitting data indicative of the amount of the resourceallocation to a billing system maintained by the network operatorassociated with the network subscription, for use in incrementing theaccount balance associated therewith.
 14. The method according to claim4, including transmitting data indicative of the amount of the resourceallocation to a billing system maintained by a network operatorassociated with the network subscription, for use in incrementing anaccount balance associated therewith.
 15. The method according to claim2, including transmitting data indicative of the amount of the resourceallocation to a billing system maintained by a network operatorassociated with the network subscription, for use in incrementing anaccount balance associated therewith.
 16. The method according to claim1, including transmitting data indicative of the amount of the resourceallocation to a billing system maintained by a network operatorassociated with the network subscription, for use in incrementing anaccount balance associated therewith.
 17. The method according to claim16, including incrementing the account balance prior to providing accessto the set of data.
 18. The method according to claim 17, includingweighting the resource allocation according to a size of at least onedata element accessible from the network location, whereby to evaluatesaid actual usage.
 19. The method according to claim 16, includingweighting the resource allocation according to a size of at least onedata element accessible from the network location, whereby to evaluatesaid actual usage.
 20. The method according to claim 12, includingweighting the resource allocation according to a size of at least onedata element accessible from the network location, whereby to evaluatesaid actual usage.
 21. The method according to claim 5, includingweighting the resource allocation according to a size of at least onedata element accessible from the network location, whereby to evaluatesaid actual usage.
 22. The method according to claim 4, includingweighting the resource allocation according to a size of at least onedata element accessible from the network location, whereby to evaluatesaid actual usage.
 23. The method according to claim 2, includingweighting the resource allocation according to a size of at least onedata element accessible from the network location, whereby to evaluatesaid actual usage.
 24. The method according to claim 1, includingweighting the resource allocation according to a size of at least onedata element accessible from the network location, whereby to evaluatesaid actual usage.
 25. The method according to claim 24, includingweighting the resource allocation according to a size of a predeterminednumber of data elements accessible from the network location, whereby toevaluate said actual usage.
 26. The method according to claim 25, inwhich a plurality of data listings corresponds to the or each matcheddata item, and the method includes displaying said plurality of datalistings as a plurality of corresponding selectable links via a userinterface on the device.
 27. The method according to claim 24, in whicha plurality of data listings corresponds to the or each matched dataitem, and the method includes displaying said plurality of data listingsas a plurality of corresponding selectable links via a user interface onthe device.
 28. The method according to claim 17, in which a pluralityof data listings corresponds to the or each matched data item, and themethod includes displaying said plurality of data listings as aplurality of corresponding selectable links via a user interface on thedevice.
 29. The method according to claim 16, in which a plurality ofdata listings corresponds to the or each matched data item, and themethod includes displaying said plurality of data listings as aplurality of corresponding selectable links via a user interface on thedevice.
 30. The method according to claim 12, in which a plurality ofdata listings corresponds to the or each matched data item, and themethod includes displaying said plurality of data listings as aplurality of corresponding selectable links via a user interface on thedevice.
 31. The method according to claim 6, in which a plurality ofdata listings corresponds to the or each matched data item, and themethod includes displaying said plurality of data listings as aplurality of corresponding selectable links via a user interface on thedevice.
 32. The method according to claim 4, in which a plurality ofdata listings corresponds to the or each matched data item, and themethod includes displaying said plurality of data listings as aplurality of corresponding selectable links via a user interface on thedevice.
 33. The method according to claim 2, in which a plurality ofdata listings corresponds to the or each matched data item, and themethod includes displaying said plurality of data listings as aplurality of corresponding selectable links via a user interface on thedevice.
 34. The method according to claim 1, in which a plurality ofdata listings corresponds to the or each matched data item, and themethod includes displaying said plurality of data listings as aplurality of corresponding selectable links via a user interface on thedevice.
 35. The method according to claim 34, including ordering thedata listings in dependence on the amount of usage of the networkresources to be charged to the network subscription.
 36. The methodaccording to claim 35, including assigning a classification to the datalistings on a basis of the amount of usage of the network resources tobe charged to the network subscription.
 37. The method according toclaim 34, including assigning a classification to the data listings on abasis of the amount of usage of the network resources to be charged tothe network subscription.
 38. The method according to claim 25,including assigning a classification to the data listings on a basis ofthe amount of usage of the network resources to be charged to thenetwork subscription.
 39. The method according to claim 24, includingassigning a classification to the data listings on a basis of the amountof usage of the network resources to be charged to the networksubscription.
 40. The method according to claim 17, including assigninga classification to the data listings on a basis of the amount of usageof the network resources to be charged to the network subscription. 41.The method according to claim 16, including assigning a classificationto the data listings on a basis of the amount of usage of the networkresources to be charged to the network subscription.
 42. The methodaccording to claim 12, including assigning a classification to the datalistings on a basis of the amount of usage of the network resources tobe charged to the network subscription.
 43. The method according toclaim 6, including assigning a classification to the data listings on abasis of the amount of usage of the network resources to be charged tothe network subscription.
 44. The method according to claim 4, includingassigning a classification to the data listings on a basis of the amountof usage of the network resources to be charged to the networksubscription.
 45. The method according to claim 2, including assigning aclassification to the data listings on a basis of the amount of usage ofthe network resources to be charged to the network subscription.
 46. Themethod according to claim 1, including assigning a classification to thedata listings on a basis of the amount of usage of the network resourcesto be charged to the network subscription.
 47. The method according toclaim 46, wherein the classifications include fully subsidized,partially subsidized and non-subsidized.
 48. The method according toclaim 47, including displaying selectable links classified as fullysubsidized differently to identifying selectable links classified aspartially subsidized and non-subsidized.
 49. The method according toclaim 46, including displaying selectable links classified as fullysubsidized differently to identifying selectable links classified aspartially subsidized and non-subsidized.
 50. The method according toclaim 49, including arranging the data listings in a plurality ofportions, each said portion corresponding to one of saidclassifications, whereby to display said selectable links in accordancewith said classifications.
 51. The method according to claim 48,including arranging the data listings in a plurality of portions, eachsaid portion corresponding to one of said classifications, whereby todisplay said selectable links in accordance with said classifications.52. The method according to claim 34, in which each said data listing inthe storage system is further held in association with rating dataindicative of the rating applied to the set of data, and the methodincludes displaying the rating data in conjunction with each said datalisting.
 53. The method according to claim 35, in which each said datalisting in the storage system is further held in association with arating data indicative of the rating applied to the set of data, and themethod includes displaying the rating data in conjunction with each saiddata listing.
 54. The method according to claim 46, in which each saiddata listing in the storage system is further held in association with arating data indicative of the rating applied to the set of data, and themethod includes displaying the rating data in conjunction with each saiddata listing.
 55. The method according to claim 47, in which each saiddata listing in the storage system is further held in association with arating data indicative of the rating applied to the set of data, and themethod includes displaying the rating data in conjunction with each saiddata listing.
 56. The method according to claim 49, in which each saiddata listing in the storage system is further held in association with arating data indicative of the rating applied to the set of data, and themethod includes displaying the rating data in conjunction with each saiddata listing.
 57. The method according to claim 51, in which each saiddata listing in the storage system is further held in association with arating data indicative of the rating applied to the set of data, and themethod includes displaying the rating data in conjunction with each saiddata listing.
 58. The method according to claim 57, in which the or eachrequested item is a search term and the or each data listing comprises asearch listing stored in association with corresponding search terms.59. The method according to claim 51, in which the or each requesteditem is a search term and the or each data listing comprises a searchlisting stored in association with corresponding search terms.
 60. Themethod according to claim 49, in which the or each requested item is asearch term and the or each data listing comprises a search listingstored in association with corresponding search terms.
 61. The methodaccording to claim 47, in which the or each requested item is a searchterm and the or each data listing comprises a search listing stored inassociation with corresponding search terms.
 62. The method according toclaim 46, in which the or each requested item is a search term and theor each data listing comprises a search listing stored in associationwith corresponding search terms.
 63. The method according to claim 35,in which the or each requested item is a search term and the or eachdata listing comprises a search listing stored in association withcorresponding search terms.
 64. The method according to claim 34, inwhich the or each requested item is a search term and the or each datalisting comprises a search listing stored in association withcorresponding search terms.
 65. The method according to claim 25, inwhich the or each requested item is a search term and the or each datalisting comprises a search listing stored in association withcorresponding search terms.
 66. The method according to claim 24, inwhich the or each requested item is a search term and the or each datalisting comprises a search listing stored in association withcorresponding search terms.
 67. The method according to claim 17, inwhich the or each requested item is a search term and the or each datalisting comprises a search listing stored in association withcorresponding search terms.
 68. The method according to claim 16, inwhich the or each requested item is a search term and the or each datalisting comprises a search listing stored in association withcorresponding search terms.
 69. The method according to claim 12, inwhich the or each requested item is a search term and the or each datalisting comprises a search listing stored in association withcorresponding search terms.
 70. The method according to claim 6, inwhich the or each requested item is a search term and the or each datalisting comprises a search listing stored in association withcorresponding search terms.
 71. The method according to claim 4, inwhich the or each requested item is a search term and the or each datalisting comprises a search listing stored in association withcorresponding search terms.
 72. The method according to claim 2, inwhich the or each requested item is a search term and the or each datalisting comprises a search listing stored in association withcorresponding search terms.
 73. The method according to claim 1, inwhich the or each requested item is a search term and the or each datalisting comprises a search listing stored in association withcorresponding search terms.
 74. The method according to claim 73, inwhich the request comprises a search request comprising one or moresearch terms.
 75. The method according to claim 74, in which the or eachrequested item comprises a name, and the or each data listing comprisesa network location stored in association with the name.
 76. The methodaccording to claim 73, in which the or each requested item comprises aname, and the or each data listing comprises a network location storedin association with the name.
 77. The method according to claim 57, inwhich the or each requested item comprises a name, and the or each datalisting comprises a network location stored in association with thename.
 78. The method according to claim 51, in which the or eachrequested item comprises a name, and the or each data listing comprisesa network location stored in association with the name.
 79. The methodaccording to claim 49, in which the or each requested item comprises aname, and the or each data listing comprises a network location storedin association with the name.
 80. The method according to claim 47, inwhich the or each requested item comprises a name, and the or each datalisting comprises a network location stored in association with thename.
 81. The method according to claim 46, in which the or eachrequested item comprises a name, and the or each data listing comprisesa network location stored in association with the name.
 82. The methodaccording to claim 35, in which the or each requested item comprises aname, and the or each data listing comprises a network location storedin association with the name.
 83. The method according to claim 34, inwhich the or each requested item comprises a name, and the or each datalisting comprises a network location stored in association with thename.
 84. The method according to claim 25, in which the or eachrequested item comprises a name, and the or each data listing comprisesa network location stored in association with the name.
 85. The methodaccording to claim 24, in which the or each requested item comprises aname, and the or each data listing comprises a network location storedin association with the name.
 86. The method according to claim 17, inwhich the or each requested item comprises a name, and the or each datalisting comprises a network location stored in association with thename.
 87. The method according to claim 16, in which the or eachrequested item comprises a name, and the or each data listing comprisesa network location stored in association with the name.
 88. The methodaccording to claim 12, in which the or each requested item comprises aname, and the or each data listing comprises a network location storedin association with the name.
 89. The method according to claim 6, inwhich the or each requested item comprises a name, and the or each datalisting comprises a network location stored in association with thename.
 90. The method according to claim 4, in which the or eachrequested item comprises a name, and the or each data listing comprisesa network location stored in association with the name.
 91. The methodaccording to claim 2, in which the or each requested item comprises aname, and the or each data listing comprises a network location storedin association with the name.
 92. The method according to claim 1, inwhich the or each requested item comprises a name, and the or each datalisting comprises a network location stored in association with thename.
 93. The method according to claim 92, in which the name identifiesa web site.
 94. The method according to claim 93, further comprising,prior to retrieving the data indicative of an amount of data and theresource allocation associated with the set of data accessible via thenetwork location, transmitting the set of data accessible via thenetwork location to the device; receiving data indicative of selectedelements from the set of data; adjusting the amount of data associatedwith the set of data on the basis of the selected elements.
 95. Themethod according to claim 92, further comprising, prior to retrievingthe data indicative of an amount of data and the resource allocationassociated with the set of data accessible via the network location,transmitting the set of data accessible via the network location to thedevice; receiving data indicative of selected elements from the set ofdata; adjusting the amount of data associated with the set of data onthe basis of the selected elements.
 96. The method according to claim95, in which the selected elements relate to elements to be excludedfrom the set of data accessible from the network location.
 97. Themethod according to claim 94, in which the selected elements relate toelements to be excluded from the set of data accessible from the networklocation.
 98. The method according to claim 95, in which the selectedelements relate to elements to be included in the set of data accessiblefrom the network location.
 99. The method according to claim 94, inwhich the selected elements relate to elements to be included in the setof data accessible from the network location.
 100. An allocation systemfor recording allocation of resources in response to a request, therequest comprising data indicative of one or more requested items, thesystem comprising: a storage system arranged to store a plurality ofdata listings, each data listing being held in association with one ormore of said items, a network location being indicative of a web pageand providing access to a set of data, a resource allocation for use inoffsetting usage of network resources when accessing the set of data,and a record for logging resource allocation events; an interfacearranged to receive a request for a data item to be transmitted to adevice in the network, the request comprising data indicative of the oneor more requested items; a processing system arranged to: identify datalistings having items providing a match with one or more of therequested data items from the storage system; retrieve data indicativeof the network location corresponding to the or each matched data item,said network location having a set of data corresponding to the matcheddata item; and retrieve the data indicative of an amount of data and theresource allocation associated with the set of data accessible via thenetwork location, the processing system being arranged to evaluate anactual usage of the network resources when accessing the set of data onthe basis of a network subscription associated with the device and theamount of data, and in the event that the set of data are accessed fromthe network location, the processing system is arranged to offset saidevaluated actual usage against the resource allocation so as to identifythe amount of usage of the network resources to be assigned to thenetwork subscription, wherein the storage system is arranged to updatesaid data listings so as to log a resource allocation event.
 101. Amobile terminal arranged to identify resource usage associated withaccessing a set of data from a network location, the mobile terminalcomprising: an interface arranged to receive data indicative of anamount of data associated with the set of data accessible via thenetwork location; a processing system arranged to evaluate an actualusage of network resources when accessing the set of data on the basisof a network subscription associated with a device in the network andthe amount of data, said network subscription being accessible by themobile terminal, wherein the interface is arranged to transmit dataindicative of said evaluated actual usage to a further device in thenetwork, said evaluated actual usage being for use in offsetting againsta predetermined resource allocation associated with the set of data.102. The mobile terminal according to claim 101, wherein the processingsystem is arranged to weight the resource allocation according to a sizeof at least one data element accessible from the network location,whereby to evaluate said actual usage.
 103. The mobile terminalaccording to claim 102, wherein the processing system is arranged toweight the resource allocation according to a size of a predeterminednumber of data elements accessible from the network location, whereby toevaluate said actual usage.
 104. The mobile terminal according to claim101, wherein the processing system is arranged to weight the resourceallocation according to a size of a predetermined number of dataelements accessible from the network location, whereby to evaluate saidactual usage.
 105. The mobile terminal according to claim 104, whereinthe processing system is arranged to weight the resource allocationaccording to a rating associated with the network location, whereby toevaluate said actual usage.
 106. The mobile terminal according to claim103, wherein the processing system is arranged to weight the resourceallocation according to a rating associated with the network location,whereby to evaluate said actual usage.
 107. The mobile terminalaccording to claim 102, wherein the processing system is arranged toweight the resource allocation according to a rating associated with thenetwork location, whereby to evaluate said actual usage.
 108. The mobileterminal according to claim 101, wherein the processing system isarranged to weight the resource allocation according to a ratingassociated with the network location, whereby to evaluate said actualusage.
 109. The mobile terminal according to claim 108 comprising a userinterface having a display area, wherein the user interface is arrangedto display data indicative of the set of data in the display area and toreceive data indicative of selected elements from the displayed set ofdata, and the processing system is arranged to adjust the amount of dataassociated with the set of data on the basis of the selected elements.110. The mobile terminal according to claim 107 comprising a userinterface having a display area, wherein the user interface is arrangedto display data indicative of the set of data in the display area and toreceive data indicative of selected elements from the displayed set ofdata, and the processing system is arranged to adjust the amount of dataassociated with the set of data on the basis of the selected elements.111. The mobile terminal according to claim 106 comprising a userinterface having a display area, wherein the user interface is arrangedto display data indicative of the set of data in the display area and toreceive data indicative of selected elements from the displayed set ofdata, and the processing system is arranged to adjust the amount of dataassociated with the set of data on the basis of the selected elements.112. The mobile terminal according to claim 105 comprising a userinterface having a display area, wherein the user interface is arrangedto display data indicative of the set of data in the display area and toreceive data indicative of selected elements from the displayed set ofdata, and the processing system is arranged to adjust the amount of dataassociated with the set of data on the basis of the selected elements.113. The mobile terminal according to claim 104 comprising a userinterface having a display area, wherein the user interface is arrangedto display data indicative of the set of data in the display area and toreceive data indicative of selected elements from the displayed set ofdata, and the processing system is arranged to adjust the amount of dataassociated with the set of data on the basis of the selected elements.114. The mobile terminal according to claim 103 comprising a userinterface having a display area, wherein the user interface is arrangedto display data indicative of the set of data in the display area and toreceive data indicative of selected elements from the displayed set ofdata, and the processing system is arranged to adjust the amount of dataassociated with the set of data on the basis of the selected elements.115. The mobile terminal according to claim 102 comprising a userinterface having a display area, wherein the user interface is arrangedto display data indicative of the set of data in the display area and toreceive data indicative of selected elements from the displayed set ofdata, and the processing system is arranged to adjust the amount of dataassociated with the set of data on the basis of the selected elements.116. The mobile terminal according to claim 101 comprising a userinterface having a display area, wherein the user interface is arrangedto display data indicative of the set of data in the display area and toreceive data indicative of selected elements from the displayed set ofdata, and the processing system is arranged to adjust the amount of dataassociated with the set of data on the basis of the selected elements.117. The mobile terminal according to claim 116, in which the selectedelements relate to elements to be excluded from the set of dataaccessible from the network location.
 118. The mobile terminal accordingto claim 116, in which the selected elements relate to elements to beincluded in the set of data accessible from the network location.